City Life

CHATTING OVER THE FENCE

bethnolastname — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:12:27 +0000

He lives in a capital city, too
Larger than mine
On the same continent
But in a different country
Still that does make us neighbors
He’s the boy next door
We talk about photography
And vegetables
And going for walks
Not everyone living in a city
Settles for concrete

AFFIRMED

bethnolastname — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:48:38 +0000

Verily Verily

I say unto you

I Am

Therefore you are

Is the best

I’m OK

You’re OK

I ever need to receive

Proof postive

It’s not what you know

But rather Who you know

CONDITIONAL LOVE

bethnolastname — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:03:53 +0000

You’ve changed

He said

And no one knew better than I

The truth of his words

He did not like the change

But the change was me

Being me

Not just who he wanted me to be

He laughed at me

And when I told him that hurt

He laughed more

So now we don’t relate

Not because I changed

But that he hated the change

And the change is me

PURPLE REIGN

bethnolastname — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:29:14 +0000

She was so Black
Her skin looked purple
In the sun
I was lost
So she took me under her wing
And taught me how to live
She insisted we see Purple Rain
Together
But as I sat between her sister and her
I giggled
And she demanded to know why
There I sat watching an all Black cast
In a theater where I was the only
White woman
Her sister threw us a glare for whispering
“What’s so funny?”
She hissed
Taking my life in my hands
I blurted out
“I feel like the filling in an Oreo cookie!”
The three of us laughed so hard
We were thrown out of the theater
I never did get to see that movie
I’ll have to look it up
Purple Rain
Like my Queen Viola
And her Purple Reign

RETURNING HOME

bethnolastname — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:02:48 +0000

Months pass

I return from where I started

Stand in one place

Feel the difference

As if visiting an old homestead

Where once I was a child

It’s all familiar

But everything seems smaller than it once did

I have no problem reaching the highest spot

That which was way over my head

Is now eye level

My! how I’ve grown

YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

bethnolastname — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:35:08 +0000

All they really want me to do is to listen

Nod my head from time to time

To show I have heard each one

Perhaps make a comment sound

Like hmmmm

But that’s all

They don’t really want a conversation

Or any kind of suggestion or feedback

Just a pair of ears

And a heart with which to listen

FIFTY-ELEVEN

bethnolastname — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:01:24 +0000

When I turned fifty
I looked in the mirror and laughed
Seeing the child I hold inside
Shining out of my eyes

When I turned sixty
I thought
It’s time to be more serious now
I cut my long hair
Remembering what mother said
About older women not wearing long hair

By the time I turned sixty-one
My hair was growing back
My mother was wrong
When asked my age I paused always
Before adding the one to sixty

Finally, deciding I was happier
When in my fifties
I found a new way to tell the truth
Yet smile as I report my age
I am now fifty-eleven

TO AGE WITH GRACE

bethnolastname — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:30:49 +0000

I walk in the youth of my old age
In a time when young men
Seek out older women
I shake my head back and forth
Not able to comprehend their reasoning
I am not yet ancient, but surely old enough
To have no longing to reach back two generations
To steal a kiss
Integrity
Dignity
Honor
Respect
Such words fill my head and my heart
Keeping a smile on my face
As my walk remains straight and true

I AM

bethnolastname — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:26:19 +0000

I am a spirit
Within a shell of a body
A spirit alive and well
Strong and resilient
I am grounded by this body I live in
And limited to it’s confines
Abilities
And ailments
Only in a physical sense
Who I am has little to do
With what is seen with the naked eye
Yet I can be seen
I am not what is heard
By the uncovered ear
Yet I will be heard
Stand away
Apart from me
That I may touch you
I bid you wake
Arise from your slumber
Come to life with me

Cactus Flower

bethnolastname — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:23:58 +0000

In the driest of places
Where the sun bakes the earth beneath it
She blossoms
Boldly
Brilliantly
Flaunting her color
And the fragility of her petals
For the spines that keep her alive
Lay outside her body
Defending the wealth of moisture
She holds within
Water
Life giver
Nature’s hidden balance
In the desert of life

For (((Kathyrnn))) who understands why roses have thorns.